Sam K.

I don’t remember exactly why I started playing guitar. I think I was 11 when I began. I just thought the guitar was really cool. I had a great teacher who was really inspiring. He made it really fun and provided a lot of encouragement along the way. I have a couple of family friends who are serious musicians. My great uncle was in a band called Lighthouse. He was a really talented piano player. So music is in my family, just not my immediate family. One year at summer camp, the head of the music program encouraged me to sing. I didn’t really want to, but then I tried it, and he said I was pretty good. And I’ve been singing ever since.

What inspires you to play?

I play guitar everyday. It’s just sort of a thing that I do, I don’t even think about it. I started recording myself at home when I was 14. Taking on projects is really fun. It is really interesting to go from the bottom up. You listen to something at point one, and then you listen to it at mid-point. And it’s changed so much. It’s really cool adding layers and taking away layers, and watching it change into an entirely new thing by the end.

There isn’t a single inspiration for my music. It’s not really like I have an idea and want to write a song based around that. It’s more like hearing some sound or click or tap and wondering where I could go with it. So I sort of construct things around one point and then branch out and see where it will go. I especially love doing covers, doing someone else’s song in a different way.

Did you have any role models growing up?

I have had so many of my dad’s patients -he’s a dentist- come up to me and tell me what a great guy he is, what good care of them he took, and how happy they were with him. And that’s really why I wanted to get into health care. He had such a huge impact on his patients and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to do as good a job with my future patients. He was definitely a really good role model for me.

What do you want to be remembered for?

I think I want to be remembered for being trustworthy and dependable. Those are qualities that are really important to me and that’s the kind of person I want to be. Also fun. You gotta be fun.